Managing Diversity in Organizations: The Implementation of Strategies, Practices and Measurements to Enhance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Workforces : A Qualitative Case Study of Diversity Management in Organizations Operating in Sweden

Abstract: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has received increasing attention among organizations and in research as the world becomes increasingly globalized and internationalized. However, there is still limited research on how diversity management is performed in organizations and a neglected focus on social sustainability linked to DEI, which underlines the need to further study implemented practices to promote DEI in organizations. Thus, the aim of this study is to broaden the knowledge of how diversity management is performed in organizations. The research questions are (1) What strategies and practices are implemented by diversity and HR managers to integrate DEI in organizations? and (2) How are the results of DEI strategies and practices measured in organizations?  A case study of DEI as a phenomenon was conducted to explore the strategies, practices, and measurements used in organizations to increase DEI in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of employees. A qualitative research method based on semi-structured interviews was used to examine DEI from the perspective of diversity and HR managers in nine organizations. The theoretical framework was based on practice theory.  The empirical findings show that organizations use various strategies and practices to integrate DEI in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of employees. Organizations focus mainly on gender and ethnicity in the context of DEI and the most common practices are awareness training on DEI, bias, harassment, and discrimination. Furthermore, the findings show that most organizations do not use DEI measurements or targets systematically, making it difficult to measure the progress and outcomes of DEI practices. Moreover, there is a need for specific targets covering DEI parameters besides gender and ethnicity, to include other minorities and discriminated groups. This thus requires structured efforts to create measurement tools for DEI practices to facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of progress and outcomes of DEI practices.